For years I have advised the students in my classes to use cotton thread unless they have reason to choose a thread made from another fiber. That is still my firm recommendation. I believe that cotton thread used with cotton fabric is the best choice from a conservation standpoint. 

Bob Purcell at Superior Threads knows a lot more about thread than I do. He is doing a fine job of educating quilters about thread. He recently wrote about polyester thread (under Education) in the May Superior Threads Newsletter. What he wrote is food for thought.

I do know that new polyester threads are much better than the ones that were available when I began quilting 25 years ago. Polyester is strong and does not make as much lint in your sewing machine. It is available in an incredible range of colors and weights. Lots of big names in our industry love and use it.

If I were a garment maker I would probably use polyester thread all the time. If I made quilts that were going to take a lot of wear and be washed a lot, I might consider switching to polyester. Hand appliqued quilts don’t usually fall into that category.

Polyester thread often has a sheen that makes it more visible. That works well for machine quilters who want that the stitches to show up more. If I wanted my machine quilting stitches to be more prominent, I would consider using polyester thread.

For invisible hand applique stitches, I prefer a thread without a sheen because the stitches hide in the fabric better. I have been doing some applique with more visible stitches (see Applique Outside the Lines) and, so far, I prefer a matte finish on those threads as well. If I run into an area where I want some shine, I’ll consider using polyester thread.

I do have concerns about the possible break-down of polyester over the long term. We know that cotton lasts if it is stored correctly. Polyester fibers may outlive us all by centuries, but it hasn’t been around long enough to know that for sure. It’s funny because in most areas of my life I am a true early-adopting techie but when it comes to quilting I make more conservative choices.

I cannot see a reason in my own work to use polyester thread at this time – but maybe you see a reason to use it in your quilts. My advice to you would be to choose the thread that, based on what you want it to do, works best for you.

FYI – As many of you know, we LOVE and use Superior’s Masterpiece cotton thread. The 'Frosted Donut' at left is filled with Masterpiece bobbins in colors that Linda and I selected and you can find it on our site. I hand applique, piece, and do a lot of machine quilting with Masterpiece. It is my go-to thread.

ABOUT SILK THREAD – Silk is harder to keep on your needle as you stitch, it is a bit harder to find in quilt shops in a wide range of colors, and (the last time I checked) it was more expensive than cotton. When there is so much good cotton thread available that does the job so well, why use silk?

I ran across a wonderful blog and thought I'd share it with you. Leah Dieterich's mother always told her to write thank you notes. So she
does. To everything. thxthxthx is her daily exercise in gratitude. Here is a sample thank you note:

And I especially like this one:

What a lovely way to look at the world… looking for ways to be thankful instead of unhappy and frustrated.

I visited the Bitteroot Quilt Guild in Hamilton, MT, last week. It was fun! Nice quilters, beautiful place – there was even some snow! I flew home through Salt Lake City. Oh my – that is an airport with good shopping. A window at Zeta with beaded purses made me stop and look.

The purses were in the $200+ range. I'm not really a 'purse person' so I wasn't tempted to buy one but I was impressed by the artistry.

I did buy a big scarf/pareo by Desigual. I won't wear it like this lady in the photo – aren't you happy to hear that!

Don't these look like antique quilts? They are instead Coqo
Rugs from Anthropoligie.
They are hand hooked wool. Click on each one to see an enlarged view.

Isn't it nice to see the same
design worked up in different colors! When you make a quilt, you don't
usually make the same thing up in multiple colorways. Linda and I
sometimes each make the same quilt in different colors, but we haven't yet
made the same thing FIVE different ways.